A Note On Contributed Comments

Much of the BearCLAW code is sparsely commented. This is especially true in the ~bearclaw/lib directory, where much of the underlying program structure is found. For my own edification, I've been adding comments as I go, and it's likely that I will not be the last person to do so. To keep my comments easily identifiable and separate from other users', I use the following notation:

' [initials]{ yyyymmdd:} comment

If I am adding a comment to note or clarify something in existing code, I will sometimes omit the date, especially if I am commenting the original program's code:

' [BDS] Terminates program execution if counter drops below 0.

Whereas I will add the date if I am noting a change I have just made or if another user-tagged comment exists:

' [XYZ] added variable to cache count.
' [BDS] 20070608: Added conditional that prevents negative values from being stored in count.

This system makes it easier to search for my own changes and differentiate my comments from other people's comments.

—Brandon D. Shroyer —2007-06-08